The Metals Company Appoints Former ExxonMobil Chief to Board

The Metals Company appointed Liam Mallon, the former upstream chief of ExxonMobil, to its board of directors on Tuesday. Mallon will also serve as the chair of the company's Sustainability and Innovation Committee. This leadership change comes as board member Brendan May steps down from his position after two years.

The appointment occurs while the company advances plans for the commercial recovery of polymetallic nodules in international waters. In 2025, the company requested approval from the Trump administration to mine the international seabed, representing the first such request for operations outside U.S. territorial waters.

The move aligns with a broader effort by the United States government to increase domestic access to critical minerals. The administration has signaled that it is nearing the approval of deep-sea mining permits to support these strategic goals.